I have just confirmed with the Newt 2012 headquarters that Apostle Dutch Sheets has endorsed Newt Gingrich and will join the campaign's national Faith Leaders Coalition. (Link to copy of press release.)

Sheets is an internationally known leader of the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) and one of the apostolic authorities over the 50-state prayer networks. Other NAR apostles, including Lance Wallnau, promoted Gingrich through these networks prior to the South Carolina primaries. Participants were encouraged to read an 18-page letter from Jim Garlow citing reasons for his support of Gingrich and the validity of his spiritual "restoration," and also directed participants to a link to audio of a January 12 conference call with Gingrich and South Carolina pastors.

It's impossible to measure the impact of the NAR's support on the outcome in South Carolina, but it is becoming clear that NAR leadership is getting in line behind Gingrich despite the endorsement of Rick Santorum by James Dobson and other "old guard" of the Religious Right.

Jim Garlow is a national co-chair for the Gingrich campaign's Faith Leaders Coalition which was formed prior to the South Carolina primary, and includes George Barna (chair), Don Wildmon, Matthew Staver, Richard Lee, Tim and Beverly LaHaye, and J.C. Watts. Michael Youseff was also added to the list this week.

Garlow also heads Renewing American Leadership (ReAL) founded by Gingrich and Rick Tyler in 2009. David Barton, the nation's most prominent promoter of Christian nationalist history, is also on the board and has traveled around the nation with Gingrich speaking at Pastors Policy Briefings. Both Garlow and Barton have worked closely with the NAR apostles for years, as noted in previous Talk2action.org articles.

Garlow led a conference call on January 9, to introduce pastors "from South Carolina and across the country." Garlow introduced George Barna, chairman of the Faith Leaders Coalition, who remarked that in twenty-plus years he had never endorsed a person or a product, but that he was supporting Gingrich out of sense of urgency for the future of the nation. Barna was followed by Donald Wildmon, founder of the American Family Association and then Gingrich, who began with testimony of his spiritual development. Right Wing Watch has pulled a few short audio clips from the call.

Other South Carolina messaging was directed to participants in the apostolic prayer networks, including a plea from Wallnau, lead spokesperson for the Seven Mountains mandate, for participants to read a letter from Garlow explaining why Gingrich is the best candidate. Garlow's 18-page letter goes into great detail about Gingrich's "restoration" and essentially inoculates him from his past. Garlow also describes why he believes Gingrich is preferable to the other GOP candidates.

Garlow is presented to the prayer warriors as being in a "covenant relationship with Cindy Jacobs." (This in reference to networks of apostolic authority or apostle-prophet relationship, not personal relationships.)

Pastor Jim Garlow is our nation's pastor. For those of you that don't know him, he is connected in covenant relationship with Cindy Jacobs of Generals International, and he spends time with key governmental leaders.

Jacobs is one of the best known New Apostolic Reformation leaders in the country and one of the other two authorities over the 50-state apostolic networks. The third is Apostle John Benefiel. Jacobs also leads the gathering of the inner circle of prominent prophets, called the Apostolic Council of Prophetic Elders.

Both Jacobs and Benefiel endorsed Rick Perry's Houston prayer event in August 2011, but Sheets did not. Perry's "The Response" event was led throughout the day by leading apostles and prophets, and many more had publicly endorsed the gathering. Perry announced his candidacy for president one week later, but it was almost immediately obvious that Perry was an incompetent campaigner at the national level and would not have a chance at the nomination.

Perry's failure as a candidate left the Religious Right in disarray and desperate to unify behind a candidate to challenge Mitt Romney. Over 100 leaders gathered in Texas a week prior to the South Carolina primary in an effort to determine whether to throw their support to Gingrich or Santorum. In the first ballot, there were only nine votes difference between Gingrich and Santorum. On the third ballot, Santorum was declared the winner, but the outcome was not unanimous and within days it was clear that the leaders were still divided.

Building a Prayer Warrior Army for 2012

For those unfamiliar with the New Apostolic Reformation, this is an international and post-denominational movement that emerged out of the Charismatic/Pentecostal sector. It's mission is to dissolve barriers between denominations and unite born again Christians under a network of apostles and prophets. The purpose is to "transform communities" by taking "dominion" over society and government in preparation for the end times.

The movement is highly controversial inside the evangelical world, because it has been able to form networks that overlay existing denominations and is widely disseminating the movement's unique ideology to evangelicals across the country.

The NAR, also described as the apostolic and prophetic movement, first received attention in the mainstream press because of the role of apostles in organizing and leading Rick Perry's Houston's prayer event. In August 2011, I was interviewed by numerous media outlets concerning the political potential of the movement, including by Terry Gross on NPR's Fresh Air. In October, octogenarian and leading architect of the movement, C. Peter Wagner, was also interviewed on Fresh Air.

Following his 80th birthday, Wagner began passing down his roles to leading NAR apostles and prophets, including Dutch Sheets, Cindy Jacobs, Chuck Pierce, and Che Ahn, among others. [Graphic at right: Sam Brownback with Dutch Sheets and John Benefiel at The Call Nashville on 7/07/07.]

As authorities over the 50-state networks, Sheets, Jacobs, and John Benefiel have been working to build a base of 500,000 prayer warriors to impact the 2012 elections through prayer and mobilization, including get-out-the-vote efforts. Jacobs announced the effort repeatedly throughout 2011, including speaking at Wasilla Assembly of God. (See Right Wing Watch video.) Cindy Jacobs' refers to these efforts as "prayer activism."

The effort has the goal of getting 10,000 participants per state, as seen on the websites of some of the state leaders, including Florida's 10KFL and Michigan's Tenacious 10K. These leaders are networked nationally through the lead apostlic authorities to whom the state leaders answer - Sheets, Jacobs, and Benefiel - as can be seen on the Taking the Land ministry in South Carolina. Prior to each primary, a prayer guide tailored for that state is disseminated along with information on registering and getting out the vote.

State-by-State Strategy

Gingrich's Faith Leaders' Coalition has an array of apostolic and prophetic leaders in addition to Garlow and Sheets. Several were announced as members of the campaign's Florida Faith Leaders Coalition on Wednesday. Included on the list is Apostle Ken Malone.

Malone was leading the 2006 apostolic prayer network conference call in which U.S. Senate candidate Katherine Harris prayed that God would "bring the hearts and minds of our Jewish brothers and sisters into alignment." Later in the prayer she referenced the leadership of apostles including Cindy Jacobs and Dutch Sheets. A controversy ensued when the audio of the call was made public.

Also on the Florida Faith Leaders list is Mario Bramnick, head of the Broward Pastors Network, an organization that has the following mission.

To - Facilitate the unity of the Pastors in Broward County in order to bring transformation and revival to our County.

To - Encourage the Pastors in advancing the Kingdom of God through unity, prayer and impartation.

To - Establish an apostolic and prophetic counsel for our county.

To - Unite the apostolic leadership of the city for establishment of apostolic government.

To - Provide an environment of edification, encouragement and consolation to the Pastors through the power of the Holy Spirit.

To - Network with local governmental officials to encourage those who are in authority and to pray for the transformation of our County.

None of the Newt 2012 biographies of the Faith Leaders Coalition mention their roles in apostolic and prophetic networks, including the bio of Dutch Sheets.

Apostle Dutch Sheets

Sheets has been featured regularly in Talk2action.org posts in his role as a national leader of the NAR. Bruce Wilson posted audio of Sheets in which he clearly states that President Obama is a Muslim.

God has now turned us over to our enemies. He only does that, he only disciplines the ones he loves.

... We have a Muslim president.

The apostolic prayer networks 2012 election efforts are called "Fast Forward" and were kicked off at the beginning at a "Gathering of Eagles" event in Washington D.C. Jacobs and Sheets were joined by NAR Prophet Harry Jackson and Family Research Council's Pierce Bynum. Right Wing Watch posted video of Sheets describing the movement's efforts to "rule the earth." (See the second video in the article.)

As i noted in a previous article, Sheets explains to the audience that the Christians will not completely dominate the world until Jesus return because there will continue to be "sheep" and "goat" nations, in other words holy and unholy nations. He has a little fun with the audience by first denying that they can rule the world and then adding, "but we're supposed to try."

I am not at all implying as some try to teach that we're going to take over everything and rule the earth completely before the Lord; that He has to wait for that until He returns.

We're not teaching that, but we're supposed to try. (Audience responds.) It is our commission.

I know that there are going to be sheep and goat nations when he comes. There's no insinuation here that we're going to take over everything. But our assignment until he comes is to bring his Kingdom rule into the earth, so that our region looks like heaven again.

Building on 2010 Election Efforts

New Apostolic leadership is working to improve upon the mobilization achieved with similar activities and outreach prior to the 2010 election, some of which were also led by Jim Garlow in his role at Gingrich's Renewing American Leadership. Gingrich and Rick Tyler stepped down from their positions at ReAL early in 2011, prior to Gingrich's announcement of his candidacy.

There is much more to come on the ways that the apostles and prophets are working to impact the election. Stay posted...

about the conference call held yesterday (Wed.), which Garlow said had about 1,000 participants. It was advertised to a list of 125,000 people and Garlow said the other 124,000 would be sent audio of the call.

On 1/26/12 I was listening to Frances and Friends on the Sonlife Network of Jimmy Swaggart. Donnie Swaggart was filling in for his mother. A caller name a list of a half dozen or so leaders of the NAR and Donnie without any hesitation said as each name was call he/she is a false prophet including Cindy Jacobs.

The Swaggart satillite channel goes around the world so it is interesting to hear Swaggart from time to time denounce dominionism.

... and this is why the apostles don't want to their activities around the country to be labeled as NAR or get too much publicity. The NAR apostles are very controversial in the larger evangelical world and in the Charismatic/Pentecostal sector. It has been very important to them to present themselves as simply nondenominational or as some kind of generic and inclusive evangelicalism.

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